Pilot Car Wait-Time Notification System

Abstract

The Kansas Department of Transportation does routine roadwork that requires traffic on two-lane highways to be narrowed to one lane. This operation usually involves use of a pilot car to direct the flow of traffic. The main objective of this research was to determine the most cost-effective method of informing drivers of delay time when approaching a pilot car operation at the two-lane rural highway work zones. Since most rural construction zones are outside existing commercially available communication systems, such as cellular coverage, success of the project hinges primarily on the acquisition of a low-cost, easily deployable work zone data communication system. The method employed in the design of the notification system involved using global positioning system receivers to track the pilot car, an algorithm to determine the time the pilot car would take to reach the two ends of the work zone and 900-Mhz radio transceivers to send the information to the display. The information was displayed on a light-emitting diode timer, mounted on a specially designed sign. The system worked as designed during a 2-hour test run at an actual work zone and was well accepted by the drivers that were surveyed.